Why is Asmodeus such an important character and why has he, oddly enough, become so popular?
We'll let you in on a little secret; he was originally planned as quite incidental, in the background. More of a shadowy influence that is inferred to but rarely seen. Then he was given (translation; stole, hijacked, snuck into) a scene or two and became massively popular. He also revealed the complexity of his nature and character, his role in the series started to drop hints about itself...
He ended up with his own spinoff series; The Preludes. If you don't already know why, let us allow Asmodeus himself to explain it to you;
"You realise, I hope, by this point, that the strength of the human race lies in its unity. They began as one tribe and, though they had their teething troubles, they always managed to work then out you see. They faced adversity as a family, as a unit, as a society eventually. Now, Lucifer has never trusted the humans, he sees them as innocent children playing at grown-ups. They put on the robes, act out the scenes, and mouth the words but they don't understand them, not really. He was, and he remains, certain that they're flawed and will disappoint the Creator, our distant Father.
Free will, that's the big problem, he says. We're mature enough to appreciate it because we earned it slowly. Humans were just given it without effort and fuss, like an extra finger or something. He doesn't like that, not one bit.
I have always seen things differently, you know? I don't really know why, maybe I was made that way or maybe I see things other chose to ignore. I think that's how I've always been different to my brothers; I notice, I observe, I learn. Now, despite rumours to the contrary, I am also loyal. I threw in my lot with Lucifer during The War, I gave him my Word, that means something to me, regardless of what others might say. I realised he had a point, he simply hadn't realised what that point was, exactly, at the time. Maybe he still hasn't quite realised it. He asked me, recognising my rather unique talents which, I admit, flattered me greatly (he's good at that, flattering people), to sort of infiltrate the growing human society, find out what made them tick. I became, I suppose, the first one-demon intelligence agency. I employed human agents, I studied their writing and customs, I observed them, and I lived among them. I was not distant like my brothers always chose to be.
Yes, chose; I use the word intentionally because it is fact. My brothers were certain of their superiority and saw it as natural that they stood above the rest of Creation. I, once again, saw things differently. I ate with them, drank with them, laughed and loved with them. It is because of this that all the lies and insults started, I think. I was learning though, I was learning a lot. Now that I think about it, I was learning a lot more than I was supposed to. I was drifting away from my brothers, taking on both that impenetrable mystique and that quality of the untouchable (in the Indian sense of the word, not the complimentary one) which I later learned to cultivate and develop to my advantage. I was also learning a lot about them. As they sprinted rapidly into their future, as their technology developed beyond all necessity, I was there to help them along, to direct, to manipulate. I was there, to use that word which my brothers keep maligning me with, to corrupt. At least, that's what they thought. Lucifer had given me a job, quite a simple one, so he said, easily within the talents of one such as I. If only he knew! Keep them divided, he said, keep them fighting amongst themselves and separate because united they're dangerous. Very, very dangerous indeed. They'd come rather close to embarrassing Lucifer during that war that nobody ever talks about. Do you think he ever thanks me for making that happen? No, of course he doesn't! Anyway, keep them divided, he said; find the cracks in the armour of their unity and force them open with that oh-so-serpentine subtly of yours. Make sure they are so busy hating each other, so jealous, afraid, and intimidated by those so marginally different to them that they don't even notice the very, very different hiding right in their midst. I'm rather proud of how it worked out, actually. Somewhat ashamed at times, I'll admit but, deep down, I am an incredibly vain being so I'll get over it. The humans, it seemed, were quite willing to help me with my work, even as they remained ignorant of it. They even shifted the direction of development their society was taking to accommodate it. I might have helped guide the direction their technology took but, contrary to popular opinion, no-one sold their soul in exchange for revelation.
That whole sack of rubbish is a human invention, why pay and negotiate for what you can simply take? The technology age made it easier; turn those things which unite all humans into taboos or, as I prefer to say it, make them dirty. It's funny how embarrassment about the most natural thing in the world can divide people... somehow the women managed to get the blame for it all and, I swear by Lilith, that was not my doing.
I started working with Lilith, actually and she gave me some incredible insights into the increasing neurotic human psyche. I take credit for a lot of that but, if I'm being honest, I simply took advantage of what was already there. So large was my operation becoming, that I had to buy somewhere out of the way and anonymous to house it all. I became quite the recluse and fell off the map as I devoted my self more and more to the work which, I readily admit, I was really starting to enjoy. Maybe it was around this time that I learned something very valuable indeed. I kept it to myself, of course, because I also realised that my brothers would never understand. I liked the humans. In general, you understand, because they have their fair share of individuals capable of giving one of Lilith's brood nightmares!
We tend to get the blame for those people, my brothers and I, but I can tell you on unimpeachable authority that the (or his self-styled spymaster) did NOT make them do it. That shit is innate, a rogue neph gene or something like that.. So, while I used the absolute godsend (hahaha) of the fast-developing internet as my tool of choice to spread misinformation, contradictory conspiracies, outright lies, and deeply complex and interwoven layers of obfuscation, I also left little nuggets of truth. Hidden for those enquiring or intelligent enough to spot. I wasn't going to put my very valuable skin on the line - I've spent eons ensuring its safety after all - not even for them. Lucifer would do indescribable things to me (or have Abaddon or - Hell forbid it - Azazel do it for him, he hates to get his hands dirty) if he found out. I will, however, do my own small part to give them a chance... What a strange little demon am I..."